MIDTOWN — An accused subway pervert busted by a cell phone-savvy teen in 2010 was arrested again after sexually abusing and touching a female telemarketing employee he supervised, according to a criminal complaint.
Cops cuffed bad boss Daniel Barricella on Aug. 20 after he pinned employee Melodia Kittrell against a wall in their Midtown office and grinded against her buttocks while he rubbed her neck, the complaint says.
Last week, Kittrell filed a lawsuit against Barricella and the telemarketing firm, Entrust Cash Advance, accusing the owners of knowing his history of sexual harassing female coworkers and firing those who complained.
"It's just ridiculous," Kittrell told DNAinfo.com New York on Wednesday. "I think he needs to be in jail so he can't do this to anybody else."
The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn, says Barricella lured Kittrell into an empty office room and told her he was a chiropractor and could help with a pain she had in her neck.
"Before she had the chance to respond, Barricella spun her body around so she was facing the wall and forcefully pinned his body against hers, placing her hands above her head on the wall so she could not move," the lawsuit says.
He then rubbed his genitals on Kittrell's buttocks and said, "I have to get it out," according to the lawsuit.
Kittrell eventually broke away and returned to her desk.
"I sat down at my desk, and I was so in shock, like did this guy just do this?" she said.
But Barricella followed her and allegedly continued to boast of his chiropractic skills while drawing a diagram to explain the reasons for her neck pain.
"I feel so bad for you. You should let me finish getting the knot out for you," he said, according to the lawsuit.
When Kittrell went to one of the firm's owners, Ilya Fridman, he thanked her for not calling the police and offered to move her desk away from his cubicle. The lawsuit said she took that to mean Barricella wouldn't be fired, so she called police.
Cops arrested Barricella after he refused to meet police in the office's lobby. He was charged with two misdemeanors for forcible touching and sexual abuse. He was released on $1,000 bond. The case is still pending, but there is an order of protection against him.
Kittrell said he no longer works at the firm.
"This company’s owners put their profits above the safety and security of their employees," said Kittrell's lawyer Christopher Q. Davis, of the firm Stoll, Glickman & Bellina. "No woman should have to endure this kind of degrading and criminal behavior as a condition of their employment."
Barricella was previously arrested for allegedly rubbing against a Brooklyn Tech student on the N train on Sept. 30, 2010. The teen, Annie Jiang, snapped a photo of Barricella and worked with detectives to track him down on the same line a few days later.
He was charged with a harassment violation and two misdemeanors for public lewdness and sexual abuse. The case is ongoing, according to court records.
"He needs to serve some time in jail," Kittrell said of Barricella.
"He needs to be liable for this. He can do this to anybody. This can be anybody's sister or mother."
Barricella could not be reached for comment. A message left at Entrust Cash Advance was not returned.
